By Bob Simpson, BCMD Associate Executive Director and Editor of BaptistLIFE
Bob Simpson
I was reminiscing last month that it has been eight years since my cancer surgery. I have been cancer-free since that Friday, Jan. 3, 2003, when I went under the knife. I thank God for His matchless grace to my life. It’s good that I reflect on this because sometimes I can begin to take His blessings for granted. This can happen gradually. At first I hardly notice it. But over time, if I don’t guard against it, I begin to think I am perfectly capable of managing things all by myself.
We must constantly remind ourselves that everything comes from His hand. He can do whatever He wants at any time. That’s what makes Him God! It is our responsibility to constantly exercise the art of continual thankfulness. We must resist becoming bored with His grace and goodness.
The writer of Proverbs put it well when he said, “Three things are beyond me; four I can’t understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a young woman.” He suggests that these are four imponderables in life, the first being “the way of an eagle in the sky.” It’s all about altitude. The eagle has the ability to soar higher than any other bird. It does this by leveraging the “thermals,” i.e. the swirling air currents, to its advantage.
Sometimes things land on our doorstep that we didn’t see coming. We react negatively to them and pridefully proclaim that it isn’t fair. Under our breath we say, “Woe is me!” But when the eagle is faced with adverse winds, it soars up to a higher altitude. By doing so it gets closer to God and gains a powerful fresh perspective.
What a great lesson for us! God is so good. I am so grateful that He does all things well in my life. Even one of the most traumatic things that ever happened to me (cancer) has become a way for me to acknowledge His goodness and grace in my life. I am reminded of the poet who said:
Back of the bread is the snowy flour,
And back of the flour, the mill,
And back of the mill is the field of wheat,
The rain, and the Father’s will.